“Chinese smugglers turned to a rather low-tech method for getting a pile of decidedly high-tech iPads and iPhones across the border to Shenzhen, in a scheme to make money off of regional tax differences,” Terrence O’Brien reports for Engadget.
“The unsanctioned exporters fired a slingshot from a high-rise in Shenzen, dragging a zip line down to a small house just across the Sha Tau Kok river in Hong Kong,” O’Brien reports. “They then sent canvas bags loaded with the gadgets flying through the night sky along the projectile-placed cable — at least until authorities spotted the gear hurtling through the air, that is.”
O’Brien reports, “Police recovered about $46,000 worth of Apple products (and four culprits) when they discovered the end of the 300-meter line.”
Check out the video in the full article here.
[Thanks to MacDailyNews Reader “Lynn Weiler” for the heads up.]
Who says they aren’t innovators ?
Priceless!
But I thought liberals maintain that taxes don’t alter our behavior?
Just as conservatives appear to think a government can be run on rainbows and unicorn dust.
Touche…
Well, watch what you say. Liberals do say “taxes don’t alter our behavior”. No one has heard a conservative say anything about rainbows and unicorns. Yes, I know, you did not say they say that but that it only appears they think that. Proof that you are in a delusional dream state of some sort. All I got to say to you is “wake up!”
Conservatives don’t think government can run on rainbows and unicorns. They wiped out the rainbows with pollution and Sarah Palin shot the last unicorn.
The only people who prefer to pay higher taxes are douches, lobotomized Democrats and donkeys, with donkeys being a pejorative term for members of a certain party whose politicians are tax mules, blowhards and turd eaters.
Don’t hold back, tell us how you really feel about left leaning politicos.
No, lobotomized Democrats and donkeys don’t prefer to pay higher taxes. They want rest of us to pay taxes for their ideology *ism (fairnessism, environmentalism, socialism, … ism).
We need to pay enough taxes to cover our expenditures. Certainly even you can understand that kind of economics. As long as the money is spent wisely, I take pride in doing my part to keep this country going. But that does not mean that I “prefer” to pay more taxes.
You really are one nut short of a full sack.
…lobotomized Democrats …
Ha ha ha BLN…you crack me up. Sure…everyone PREFERS to pay higher taxes.
Get real. No one PREFERS to do that regardless of your political leanings. kingmel put it nicely in that we all have to do our part and we hope that it is done wisely. To not pay taxes and expect something rom your government (trade protection, military protection, etc) is just plain stupid, as was your ignorant comment.
“prefer to pay higher taxes” is a dishonest distraction.
I think anyone who isn’t crazy would say that taxes must be somewhere above 0% and somewhere less than 100%. After that, it’s all about finding the “sweet spot” where people feel like they don’t have to “take the law into their own hands” (i.e. we have a police force that maintains reasonable amount of order), as well as government functions that take care of market inequalities and provide services that markets won’t take care of (more than you might think). Of course, at some point higher tax rates result in those with the means to to do HIDING their income from government taxation, which results in diminishing returns. Most people would consider me liberal/progressive on most issues, but I think honest progressives will admit there’s a tax rate beyond which the rich will simply hide their income. Based on the history of this country, we don’t seem to currently have high-bracket tax rates that make that a significant issue.
The annoying thing about this issue is all the people who seem to argue that everyone paying 0% taxes is a viable option. If you truly are arguing that, you are either being dishonest or are plain crazy/illogical, in which case everyone else should ignore you.
The actual disagreement is only about where the “sweet spot” is. Don’t pretend otherwise.
The funny thing is…
The people that have the means to know how to hide their income are the jerk politicians who write the laws and associated loopholes and their friends.
I vote for small government funded by arms sales and tariffs rather than funded by their citizens. In case you haven’t noticed, the politicians have arranged it so that more than 50% of the citizens don’t pay certain kinds of taxes and it’s those politicians that hope those are the people that will vote them back into office.
I think a “fair” system is only taxpayers are allowed to vote. Either that or just property owners. There is a lot of wisdom in that kind of system, don’t you think?
Bull. No one credible has ever made a blanket statement that “taxes do not alter human behavior.” That is blatant FUD. Taxes will affect behavior in various ways and to various degrees depending on their type and magnitude.
For instance, the tax free nature of internet purchases in the U.S. has certainly incentivized people to buy online. But that means a lot more for a $1000 computer or HDTV than it does for a $5 gadget.
Go troll somewhere else with your blather.
I hope they had screen protectors……
I spy Shenzenigans
+1
Is this how they supply the fake Apple stores in China with contraband?
Sounds like the smugglers were pretty dumb if they were trying to smuggle into Shenzen.
They’re in a high-rise in Shenzen and shoot a cable to a small house in Hong Kong, and gravity goes which way???!!!
Someone got something mixed up here.
Joe
In related news, HP tablets were reportedly being smuggled out of China via the underground sewer system.
This discussion about taxes makes me sad. I always admired the USA but I now know what a poor (in many meanings of the word) country that is.
A European with (diminishing) admiration for the USA.
Perhaps you don’t understand us. Many of us are highly opinionated, some of us are undoubtably deluded, but we love to argue. This is the home of the free – and Apple. 🙂
I don’t know which is worse: Having to smuggle goods from one state to the other to save on taxes, or the fact there are police monitoring the river looking for smugglers.
Guess the USA has similar things happen with tobacco products… example between Ohio and NY. Huge difference in taxes.
Why would they bother to do this when I continue to hear that the Chinese are just as happy with Apple product clones? The pundits keep saying that Apple is in for heavy sales losses once China starts copying everything Apple makes and sells it for one-tenth the price. I guess the smugglers haven’t heard about this from their own people that Chinese consumers are all clamoring for cheap China-made iPhone and iPad fakes.
So how does a story about Chinese smugglers start an argument about left and right politics in America. Did I miss something in the story?
It’s a form of Tourette’s. Have some compassion for the inflicted.
…and while you’re at it, some compassion for the afflicted as well.
Smuggling iGear into Shenzhen? That’s carrying coal to Newcastle.
Very cool. A bunch of counter revolutionaries (the standard term used for criminals in a communist state) caught smuggling the Revolutionary iPad. So does that make them pro revolutionary counter revolutionaries, or just plain old tax dodgers.
Should have used a Trebuchet